By: Skye Slatcher
We have enjoyed a rich year of sports. From international events to LSE success at BUCS fixtures, the past twelve months have been incredible.
The Paris Olympics saw 329 events in 32 sports. The US came out on top, with 126 medals in total. The Brits finished in 7th, with Team GB featuring LSE alumnus and diving finalist Kyle Kothari (read my interview with him online!). Team GB finished second in the Paralympic, behind China.
At the Euros, we saw football fail to come home to England once again, with the men’s team losing to Spain in the final. In Copa América, Argentina won their 16th title, defeating Colombia 1-0. Fans around the world spent days, evenings, and weekends in front of screens and in stadiums fangirling over their national teams.
In F1, Max Verstappen secured his fourth world championship in Las Vegas in November. Finishing in fifth, he found the points gap needed to ensure his victory over Lando Norris. Before the end of the year, we will know who will win the constructor’s championship too – McLaren or Ferrari. We will soon see Lewis Hamilton’s final ever race with Mercedes, who together won six drivers and seven constructors championships.
LSE sports have been thriving this year too. A number of teams are currently first in their BUCS leagues: Men’s 1s Fencing; Women’s 1s Football; Women’s 1s Badminton; Men’s 1s Table Tennis; Women’s 1s Tennis; Men’s 1s Hockey; Men’s 2s Hockey; Women’s 1s Hockey. And in LUSL, Men’s Saturday Intermediate 4s Football; Mixed Intermediate 1s Hockey; Men’s Intermediate 1s Squash; Mixed Competitive 1s Lacrosse; Mixed Intermediate 1s Tennis.
The LSESU Sports team wanted to give a shout-out to some of the other amazing achievements we’ve seen this year: Rowing 12-hour Erg for Movember raising lots of charity funds for Men’s Health; Dance and Pole Fitness AT showcase; Ultimate Frisbee Women’s team qualifying for nationals; Taekwondo autumn Championships with Soufyaan Timol coming first in their category and Vilte Barakauskaite coming second in theirs, a National competition; Various trips such as Netball x Football trip to Liverpool, BJJ to Warwick for competition, Floorball to Durham for competition; The Athletics Union on planning Carol and their upcoming events such as Fight Night and AU Ball.
We have teams competing at the highest level. Women’s 1s Table tennis, competing in Premiership South, managed to qualify for the European Universities Games over the summer. Qinan Li, Yuvathi Kumar, Gauri Duhan (Captain), and Lewis Dixon (LSESU Sports Coordinator) headed to Debrecen, Hungary to compete not only for LSE but also for Great Britain. What an achievement! Yuvathi continues the legacy and captains this year’s team with competition still underway. (Thank you to Lewis Dixon and the SU Sports Team for all of this information!)
2025 will bring a host of new sporting delights. Hamilton in Ferrari red, the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Cricket World Cup, and many more. And more LSE sporting success!
